Bi Weekly Devotional - February 22, 2021
DEVOTIONAL WEEKS OF FEBRUARY 22/29, 2021
Overcoming Anxiety with Peace
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you.
Isaiah 26:3 NLT
For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News,
so that you will be fully prepared.
Ephesians 6:15 NLT
I sat on an airplane at 37,000 feet flying to Singapore to speak at a leadership conference in South East Asia. Beside me was my friend and mentor, Dr. Roger Birkman, and we were talking about anxiety. Both of us struggled at times with it and he shared what had caused him to write the following statement on perceptions, which is now used in every Birkman Certification.
The reality of life is that your perceptions, right or wrong,
influence everything else you do.
When you get a proper perspective of your perceptions,
you may be surprised how many other things fall into place.
I quoted Isaiah 26:3 and he said, “Ah Bruce, that is the key, for we so need God’s perspective don’t we." I wish I had recorded the next hour as we shared back and forth.
I recently read about the contrast between High Thinking and Low Thinking. God sees things differently than we do. That is what Dr. Birkman was referring to.
High Thinking trusts His promises and sees life through the lens of His Word. Low Thinking has its source in unhealthy emotions, anxious thoughts, impure minds and fearful mindsets.
In our theme of “Becoming an Overcomer”, I want to link Ephesians 6 to Isaiah 26 to help align us with God’s perspective to receive the gift of peace, which the world is desperately seeking during this Covid time.
The shoes of the Roman soldier were not your average athletic cleats. They were made of heavy pieces of leather or metal tied together with leather straps. The bottom of the shoes were affixed with sharp, dangerous, protruding spikes. They were vicious weapons not designed for running, rather, to give the soldier stability in hand to hand combat. They held him in place in battle, making him virtually immovable.
Wow! Paul connects peace with this weapon.
The word “put or shod” in Ephesians 6:15 means binding something very tightly on the bottom of one’s feet. The word “prepared” presents the idea of readiness or preparation. Together, the soldier was ready to face their opponent.
Paul uses this analogy to help us understand that battling anxiety is like fighting the enemy in close combat in your mind. If I have doubt, fear, and uncertainty, the enemy will use this to his advantage. I am to have High Thinking, the proper perspective with certainty, trust, and faith, where I am standing in the peace of Christ regardless of my circumstances. That is overcoming anxiety with peace.
Yet, these days, it is a daily battle. David Jeremiah asks five questions which I have been reflecting on to give me proper perspective.
How am I praying? I was given the acrostic ACTS many years ago for prayer – Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. I have recently returned to this. Also, in the words of author Daniel Henderson, "You must first seek God’s face through worship and adoration before seeking His hand."
What am I thinking? Isaiah 26:3 and Philippians 4:8 are commands and I need to be aligning my thoughts through High Thinking.
Who am I following? We are designed for community. I so value those who I am able to process with and gain perspective. I find we really are all experiencing degrees of anxiety and it helps to know, I am not alone. We encourage each other. Yes, it is often through Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, yet we are connecting. I would add, depending on the severity, you may need medical and/or counselling expertise.
Where am I living? I can only live in three places. The past, present or future. I have peace through trusting God and receiving His peace one day at a time. God has placed us in the moment, bracketed away from the past and future. Jesus says, don’t’ dwell on tomorrow. Wanting to live in the future is a statement about me wanting to be in control.
When will I find peace? It will be when I practice the how, what, who, and where.
Our defeat or victory begins with what we think, and if we guard our thoughts,
we shall not have much trouble anywhere else along the line.
Vance Havner
Let’s encourage each other to have the proper perspective.
Bruce Gordon
